


I Can't Choose

by whatacunningboy



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Cherik - Freeform, Divorce, Divorce AU, High School, M/M, Not Beta Read, Pietro being awesome, Spideypool - Freeform, Steve Angst, Stony - Freeform, Superfamily, Superfamily (Marvel), Superhusbands, Superhusbands (Marvel), Tony Angst, Wade is just Wade, Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, divorce fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2018-02-21 15:06:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2472611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatacunningboy/pseuds/whatacunningboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter is sent to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Even though Tony and Steve tried to keep it a secret from him, Peter perfectly knows why their is tension between his fathers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can't Choose

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Clints13Arrow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clints13Arrow/gifts).



> This one goes out to my bestie, Momo.
> 
> Not Beta Read. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone.

            Peter looked back at the car and waited for his parents to get out of it. His hands gripped his red backpack tightly as he gulped at the huge building in front of him. Both of his fathers—Steve and Tony—walked far from one another. They acted as if nothing was wrong in front of Peter, but Peter knew exactly why they were taking him to the school.

            The school, Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, was located far from the city. Far enough, so that Peter could stay away from any arguments, paperwork, or court dates that his parents were going to go through. Steve gave his son a reassuring smile as they reached the door. Peter took a deep breath before Tony knocked on the door.

            The door was flung open quickly. A boy with silver haired boy wearing a _Pink Floyd_ shirt, he grinned widely and took Peter’s hand.

“You must be the newbie!” He shook his hand faster than Peter could process, “I’m Pietro Maximoff, we’re gonna be bunkmates! Daaaaaadddddd!”

            Pietro disappeared in the next second, the sudden introduction made Peter reconsider this option. Steve chuckled slightly at the vibrant boy, which made Peter happy. It had been a while since he heard a chuckle from his father’s lips.

“Ah, you must be Peter.” The family turned to their right to reveal a man in a wheel chair. If Peter remembered correctly, he would be Charles Xavier. Tony had spoken about him and how he was intrigued over the mechanism that went into building Cerebro, “My name’s Charles Xavier.”

            He shook hands with the professor and waited after his parents were introduced to the man. Then it stood quiet for a while. Charles did not have to read any minds to know the tension between the two parents.

“Well, I see you have met, Pietro.” Charles led them to the sitting room, where they would talk about Peter’s arrangements.

“Am I going to be his roommate?” Peter glanced around the room and caught every detail in each of the hanging paintings, books, and even the dust that was floating around.

“Afraid so. He insisted on having you as his roommate.” Charles’ eyes flickered to the doorway, which Erik was walking through, behind him Pietro.

“See? Told you! You said he would not be here until five and it’s three!” Pietro followed Erik to the chair. Charles communicated to him to calm himself enough to bear with the meeting.

“Why don’t you show Peter to your room?” Charles smiled, “I’m sure with both of your skills you can even unpack in less than an hour.”

“I’m not sure-!”

“Yeah! That sounds like a good idea!” Pietro grabbed Peter’s hand and pulled him out of the room. Steve was glad Peter already made a friend, even if he did not intend to.

“I’m sorry for Pietro, sometimes he does not know where to put away all that energy.” Charles laughed lightly, “This is Erik Lensherr, Pietro’s father and one of the teachers here in the school.”

“What do you teach?” Steve asked.

“History.” The only reason Erik taught was because Charles insisted. If it was up to him, he would be teaching the children how to defend themselves.

“Are there any inquiries you might have for us?” Charles interrupted, “I was informed you plan to let Peter stay for a short period of time.”

“Yes, just for a sometime.” Steve’s eyes drifted to his hands and back up to Charles’ expression, “We just don’t want him to lose any credits or fall behind.”

“He’s smart, but he has to show for something to the universities.” Tony finished.

“I can assure you he won’t.” Charles smiled, “We teach everything the local school district teaches as well as mutant courses; if he were to want to build upon his skill.”

“Peter would love that.” Steve faked smiled.

“Well, I think we’re in order.” Tony stretched, “We’ll just say goodbye and leave him to your hands.”

Erik and Charles nodded and shook their hands. Charles called on Pietro to bring Peter. They were by the doorway before Steve and Tony could get close to the staircase. Pietro let go of Peter’s head and patted him on the shoulder.

“You’re only going to stay for some time, Pete.” Steve kissed his forehead.

“I know…”

“Don’t fight with the other kids.” Tony playfully punched his arm and gave him a hug afterwards, “We love you, sport.”

“Love you too, Dads.”

            With a simple goodbye, Tony and Steve left the campus. Pietro kicked the rock off the porch as Peter waved goodbye to them. He could already see that they were arguing. Pietro noticed his new friend was feeling upset and bumped his shoulder.

“C’mon, we got some unpacking to do.” He welcomed him into the school.

 

 

 

            Charles stroked his hair back as he waited for Erik to bring him a cup of tea. He brushed his fingers on the spine of the book with his free hand and watched the fire crackle. Erik came in with two cups and placed Charles’ tea next to him. The professor smiled at the German and took a sip.

“Pietro is taking a liking to the boy.” Erik watched the fire close to Charles, “I’m glad he finally has a friend.”

“Peter needs him right now.” Charles added, “He needs support. I know I did when we got a divorce.”

“They’re not divorcing.” Charles gave him a look of are-you-kidding-they-practically-oozed-out-guilt, “So, maybe they are, but we didn’t.”

“Cuba.”

“Okay, yes, but I came back. I’m here with you now.” Erik took his hand and kissed it gently, “Nothing can change that.”

 

 

 

            Pietro and Peter studied in the library with some other students. The school was not as small as Peter thought it would be. Granted, there were about seventy students and only twenty were in high school. Thankfully, Peter and Pietro were in the same grade and had all their classes together. Well, all except for Mutant training.

“So, Petey… got a lady friend?” Pietro smirked.

“Not necessarily.”

“’cause I got a sister, who needs a date to the dance?” Pietro scratched the back of his head, “And I don’t wanna go with her again.”

“Wait, you have a sister?”

“Yeah, Wanda, how have you not seen her?” Pietro quirked an eyebrow, “She looks exactly like me.”

“I don’t-!”

“Shh!” Someone hushed.

“I don’t see the resemblance.” Peter whispered.

“Dad doesn’t either, to be honest.” Pietro shrugged.

            Peter chuckled at the sudden disappointment in Pietro’s shoulders. He kept on reading the book in from of him; the fingers that held the book up for him began to trace the spine as he rested his head on his forearm. He closed his eyes momentarily, his glasses did not make the position comfortable. Slowly, images from his childhood to recent memories of happiness flooded his mind.

“Gooood Mooorning, mutants!” Peter’s head shot up, just as well as everyone else’s. He turned bright red when he recognized the colour scheme of the man’s mask. Deadpool has come to visit, but to Peter he was known as Wade, “I am currently going to perform an inspection of your powers.”

“Who sent you?” Someone yelled out.

“Professor X, random person who yelled that out.” Peter grabbed his stuff and hurried to put them inside of his bag. Pietro watched Peter do so and moved his eyes between the red masked man and Peter, “Now, you, girl with the white streaks, give me a hug!”

            Peter got to him before he could harass anyone anymore. Wade gasped and hugged Peter, he lifted the thin boy into the air and twirled him around.

“I will take this one for inspection,” Wade announced and began to walk backwards, until he was completely gone.

 

 

 

            Wade sat down on the roof next to Peter. The sun was beginning to tint an orange-red with a few hues of pink. Peter sighed and watched the trees rustle.

“What’s with the anime scene?” Wade murmured.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Wade shrugged, “So, your Dads are getting a divorce.”

“Nothing’s said in stone, Wade.” Peter turned slightly to Wade, “They wanted to keep it a secret.”

“And they’re doing an excellent job.” Wade answered. Peter laughed lightly, but it was humorless. Wade knew something was wrong because he always made Peter laugh.

            Peter turned to Wade and pulled his mask off. He touched his scarred face and kissed his lips as they kissed Wade pulled Peter into his lap. Peter pulled away and scanned Wade’s face.

“Whoa there, Spidey.” Wade smirked, “It was about to get hot and sweaty on the roof.” Peter smiled, “You know, maybe your parent’s hatred for me could reunite them.”

“Nice try, Wade, but I don’t think so.”

            Peter kissed Wade once more. This time the kiss was deeper. Wade gripped Peter’s hips as Peter rolled them onto Wade’s not-yet-hard cock. Peter smirked into the kiss when he felt Wade nip at his lower lip. They pulled away and Wade laughed.

“Divorce fic Peter is awesome!”

“What?”

“I love you, Peter!”

 

 

 

            Erik heard bumps on the roof, but left it alone. Maybe it was his own imagination. He walked down the hall towards his office-slash-classroom-slash-den and hoped that he could get a moment of silence. He liked working with the children, but some of them just made him stand on edge. Charles often told him that those were the ones that needed their attention, but Erik usually left them to the mercy of Charles. He opened the door to his office and saw Pietro sitting in one of the desks he had. He smiled and waved slightly at his father. Erik closed the door and sat next to his son.

“Hey, dad.” Pietro greeted, “I just wanted to come talk to you about something.”

“And what’s that?”

“Mom… I don’t remember the divorce or anything… and… you’ve talked about Charles’ and your divorce like you had a bigger thing for Charles…”

“Is this because of your friend, Peter?” Pietro nodded. Erik sighed and glanced out the window. He could see Charles playing with some of the younger mutants, “I loved your mother, just as I equally love Charles. You know that.”

“Yeah, but you never talk about mom.”

“Pietro… the divorce between you and your mother was gruesome. That’s why I was to take care of you and your sister.”

“Did she not want us?” Pietro glanced up at him.

“She did… but she was frightened. This was before the Mutant Reform, Charles fought for.” Pietro nodded, “Has Peter mentioned the divorce?”

“Not really. He knows it’s going on… but his parents won’t say anything.” Pietro lit up and looked up at his father, “You should talk to them! You know more than anyone the suffering of divorce! You’ve been through it twice!”

“Maybe we will. Charles has a better way with these things.”

            Pietro felt good because he would be helping his friend and his family to become happy.

 

 

 

            Erik stepped into his bedroom, where Charles was already in bed. He dried his short hair as he sat down on the bed. Charles closed his book with the bookmark inside and glanced over at his lover.

“What’s on your mind?”

“Peter Parker.” Erik sighed, “Pietro has spoken to me about the boy fearing the divorce of his parents.”

“Divorce is a tricky thing. His parents did explain it to us.”

“Yes, Charles, but the boy already lost one set of parents and a father figure, imagine the suffering he must be in because of the loss of another set of parents.” He rested his head on Charles’ lap. The droplets of water soaking into the comforter.

“I can imagine.” Charles answered. Erik kissed his hand.

“Pietro asked me about his mother… and about you…” Erik starred straight across the room, “I did not tell him that his mother was dead.”

“You will at some point. He and Wanda are already sophomores and will be graduating in two more years. They will wonder why their father did not tell their mother or why their mother did not come.”

“I know… I will soon… But how will I explain that their mother was terrified of them.”

“They will understand. Their mother was young and frightened, as a result it made her act in a foolish way.” Charles stroked Erik’s hair.

“Pietro wants us to talk to Peter’s parents.” Erik looked up at Charles, “Maybe we can offer a piece of advice about divorce.”

“Yes, domestic violence is not an option.”

“I said I was sorry and Hank is working on the serum.”

“I know, love.” Charles leaned down and kissed Erik’s temple, “Maybe we can offer some advice for Peter’s parents.”

 

 

 

            Tony stumbled into his apartment half drunk and with Clint helping him up. He laughed hardily and told JARVIS to tell him a joke. Clint struggled keeping him on his feet, so he threw the man on the couch. Steve walked down the steps of the house and watched Clint.

“Thank you.” He said.

“Steve… I’m not the one to meddle-…”

“Then don’t.” Steve interrupted. Clint let out a sharp breath of air and nodded.

“Right. I left him on his side, wouldn’t want him to die.”

“Thank you, Clint.”

            Clint shook his head and walked away from the man. He let himself out, but looked back at his friends. Ever since the divorce started, Tony had drunk himself to a stupor almost at the end of every court date, which usually resulted in either him being dragged out by someone, or into fights. Steve sighed and left the living room.

“Steve…” Steve turned back to the man, “’srrsy… I’m… srrsy…” Steve got closer to him, to try and decipher his small moans, “Sorry…”

            Steve stood up and left the room. A part of him wanted to accept him back, but another kept him thinking that it was for the best.

 

 

 

            Peter walked down the steps of the school to the front door. He wanted to believe that both of his parents were there waiting for him, hand-in-hand. Maybe Steve would scold Tony because he would not want to be handed the papers to release Peter, or Tony would be busy trying to get to go into Cerebro. However, when he reached the bottom of the steps, his heart stopped. Steve stood alone by the door. He had bags under his eyes and looked tired.

“Hey, champ.” Steve smiled, “Came to take you home.”

“Where’s Dad?”

“Peter, we’ll talk about this at home.” Steve knew that this was going to be difficult.

“We can talk about this now.” Peter glanced at the hallway and noticed Charles there, “I’m not leaving.”

“Peter…”

“No, you and Dad divorced, I’m not stupid!” He kept his voice down, “I didn’t even get a say in it, even though I’m no longer a child.”

“Right now, you’re acting no better than one.”

“I’d rather stay here.” Peter glared. He saw his father’s heart break, “At least, they’re a family here.”

            Peter ran up the steps of the school. Steve watched him leave and rubbed his eyes. Charles came to the light of the central window.

“Steve, I would like to speak with you and Tony, if possible.”

 

 

 

            Tony slammed his car door. He walked up the steps of the school and was ready to fight Peter. He would drag the boy back home to Steve’s place, because he could not take seeing Steve anymore. For a moment, he knew he was acting like his father, but his hangover and his own misery could not make him think straight. He pushed the door open, Erik stood waiting for him.

“Where’s Peter?”

“Mr. Stark, I would appreciate it if you would join us in the sitting room.” Erik pointed him to the direction and Tony followed.

            Steve sat in the place he had before. Charles across and Erik resumed his chair next to Charles. Tony watched the two sit and glanced at Steve, who did not turn to him. Tony could see in his blue eyes that he was breaking because of Peter. All that fighting between Tony and the worst was with Peter; his super soldier serum could not help him now.

“Gentlemen, we’re aware of your situation… and we’d like to offer some advice.” Charles cleared his throat.

“No offense, Prof X.” Tony sat in the same couch as Steve, but far from him, “But what do you know about divorce?”

“A lot.” Erik interrupted, “And much more.”

“What advice could you offer?” Steve said, “We’re divorced now. Peter doesn’t want to leave because of it.”

“Erik and I divorced in Cuba… more or less.” Charles explained, “It separated my family and it took sometimes, but not we’re back here.”

“I divorced with my wife.” Erik said, “I have two children, because of her fear.”

“Steve, are you afraid?” Charles turned to him.

“N-not necessarily.”

“Okay, is this necessary?!” Tony stopped and laughed, “I mean, I never doubted for a second, you two fondued, but please? Marriage counselors?”

“What are you afraid of, Steve?” Charles ignored.

“Tony’s stupidity… he goes off and one day… I-we might lose him. I can’t put Peter through that.” Tony watched Steve’s expression change, “I know, it’s something that probably won’t change… that’s why I did not bother talking about it.”

“You know, I thought Erik would never change.” Charles turned to him, “But, he did… and his habits were worse than Tony’s.”

            Tony rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. He glanced at Steve. That was often the subject of their fights—how Tony would go off on a tangent and put himself in danger. At first it was not that big of a deal. Actually, it scored Tony some amazing rounds of sex, but ever since they took Peter under their wing Steve changed.

“There’s no need to separate Peter, from either of you. You don’t need to make him choose either.” Erik advised.

“I don’t think…”

“You two should talk.” Charles offered before moving away from the two, “That’s what you really need.”

            Erik stood from his seat and wheeled Charles out of the sitting room. They left the two men alone in the room. Steve took a deep breath and tried to figure out what to say. Tony’s head ran around and his stomach dropped. He felt his palms become sweaty as his breath grew more and more sharp.

“You know, we don’t have to be married.” Steve’s voice was like a blessing to Tony, “I just need to know… that no matter how rich you may think you are or how powerful your Ironman suit is… you’re no indestructible.”

“I know.” Tony stopped him, “And it’s because of it that I’m afraid… without the suit, I’m nothing… and without you, Steve… I’m lost.” Steve smiled, but continued looking at his hands, “Steve, please…” Tony took his hands, “I really want you and Peter to come back home with me.”

“Tony… I can-…”

“Don’t tell me you can’t because you don’t want to… Peter is your son as much as he’s mine.” Tony took a deep breath. Steve could feel Tony’s clammy hands, “Give me another chance, Cap.”

“You can come to us.” Steve turned, “For dinner. We can start off small.”

            Tony smiled and quickly kissed Steve’s lips. Steve accepted it. Mostly because he missed the tender habits Tony did and a part of him wanted to go back. Steve knew he would, it would all just be a matter of time.


End file.
